Abstract: Given the deteriorating global climate, China has committed to achieving carbon peaking and neutrality as swiftly as possible. The production sector has become a pivotal area of focus for industrial transformation and development in the context of green and decarbonised efforts. Concurrently, recycling and remanufacturing represent advanced forms of the circular economy and are of critical importance to the advancement of China’s industrial upgrading and transformation. However, enterprises encounter obstacles in these domains, including insufficient recycling channels, challenges in regulating the quality of waste products, and intricate and opaque recycling procedures. Blockchain technology, renowned for its transparency and reliability, provides a comprehensive record of logistics and transaction data, and streamlines transactions, reduces remanufacturing costs and enhances recycling efficiency, which are pivotal factors for the growth of the recycling industry. This paper examines a secondary supply chain comprising a manufacturer and a retailer, with a particular focus on the selection of recycling channels and the development of recycling strategies within a closed-loop supply chain. The manufacturer and retailer jointly invest in a blockchain platform and share the associated technical costs. Within this framework, four two-stage game models are developed to assess whether single-or dual-channel supply chain enterprises should invest in blockchain technology. These models enable the comparison and analysis of recycling price, volume, blockchain technology investment levels, and optimal profits across the four scenarios, thereby exploring the impacts of blockchain technology and various channel recycling modes on the equilibrium decision-making of node enterprises.
   The study indicates that while blockchain technology does not affect wholesale and retail prices of products, it does increase recycling prices, recycling volumes, and overall profits for manufacturers and retailers, irrespective of single-or dual-channel recycling models. The level of blockchain technology investment positively impacts commissioned recycling prices and volumes but is inversely related to indirect recycling prices. Manufacturers benefit more from dual-channel recycling, whereas the opposite is true for retailers. Retailers only profit if the manufacturer’s contribution to blockchain technology input costs exceeds a certain threshold. As the cost coefficient increases, the manufacturer’s profit decreases while the retailer’s profit increases, eventually converging to a fixed value as the cost coefficient approaches infinity. Factors such as the cost coefficient of blockchain technology, the sharing ratio, recycling efficiency, and the unit cost savings from remanufacturing influence the level of blockchain technology inputs, recycling prices, and volumes. Based on these findings, several management implications are proposed. Both manufacturers and retailers should invest in blockchain technology to enhance the recycling of used products, thereby increasing their profits and generating social benefits. Manufacturers should prefer dual-channel recycling, while retailers should opt for single-channel strategies. As market leaders, manufacturers should balance recycling strategy, blockchain technology investment, and profit distribution to motivate retailers’ cooperation and ensure the supply chain’s stable operation.
   In the context of blockchain technology, supply chain enterprises should consider the cost coefficient of blockchain technology input, the cost-sharing ratio, the efficiency coefficient, and the impact of unit cost savings to make informed decisions about blockchain technology investment levels and recycling strategies. Future research could explore corporate recycling strategies that incorporate third-party recycling models within the context of blockchain technology. Additionally, in practice, consumers’ acceptance of recycled products influences single-or dual-channel recycling decisions. Therefore, future research could establish a multi-party game model that considers third-party consumers for further study. The issues surrounding single/dual channel recycling and pricing in the context of blockchain technology are also promising avenues for future research.

Key words: block-chain technology, closed-loop supply chain, single/dual channel, recycling strategy

摘要： 区块链技术能实现信息共享和可信溯源,其在供应链中的应用受到业界关注。本文以单一制造商、单一零售商和消费者组成的闭环供应链为研究对象,考虑区块链技术投入成本和区块链技术对回收量与再制造和交易成本的影响,分别对比了单/双渠道以及供应链是否投资应用区块链技术四种情境下的价格、回收量、利润等最优决策,分析了区块链技术和不同渠道回收模式对节点企业回收策略和利润的影响。研究发现:无论单渠道还是双渠道回收模式,应用区块链技术都不影响产品批发和零售价格,但会提升制造商和零售商的回收价格、回收量和总利润。对于制造商而言,采用双渠道回收较优,而零售商则相反。只有当制造商分担的区块链技术投入成本比例大于某一值时,零售商才会盈利。采用区块链技术后,通过再制造节省的单位成本会影响区块链技术成本系数、分担比例和回收效率系数对均衡决策的作用强度。

关键词: 区块链技术, 闭环供应链, 单/双渠道, 回收策略